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Debby Maugans is my new best friend. No I’ve never met her, but let me just say this. Any woman that can put together a cookbook like the one she did, most certainly should qualify for best friend status.

I recently received her newest cookbook for review entailing a treasure of recipes for small batch baking. But we’re not talking just any old recipes. We’re talking all chocolate, all the time recipes. With everything from strawberry chocolate tarts to chocolate chip cookie souffles to white chocolate lemon creme brulee to this beauty pictured above, the diva milk chocolate layer cake, she fills my chocolate sweet tooth like no other cookbook ever has. And get this, it’s all done in manageable proportions. The recipe for that cake you see above makes two of those little chocolate gifts; one for me and one for my husband. One indulgence and that’s it. No extra cake waiting around to taunt your waistline day after day. Just one glorious craving fulfilled in a personal sized portion.

It’s officially my favorite time of year. Strawberry picking season. I love heading to the pick-your-own farm and grabbing up a stash of my very own locally grown berries. Each year, as I make my way through one aisle of red sweetness after another, I think about how I will utilize my freshly acquired stash. This strawberry is destined for a homemade shortcake. That one? Pie, for sure. And the really, really big one that’s as red as a freshly polished ruby, will be enjoyed as is, sliced up and thrown into my morning bowl of vanilla granola. There really is nothing better than a freshly picked bowl of berries.

This year I decided to venture into the world of canning and try my hand at a pot of fresh strawberry jam. I was searching for ways to give the spread a unique twist that hadn’t been done yet, when it hit me. Ryan from Pom Wonderful recently sent me a case of their new pomegranate cranberry juice to try out. I had been pondering what to make with it for sometime when it struck me like a strawberry to the forehead. I’ll make Pom strawberry jam!

I just love how the tart taste of the juice compliments the sweetness of the strawberries. Because you add juice, you also use less sugar in exchange. That’s a win-win if you ask me.

Start out by roughly chopping 8 cups of fresh strawberries. Oh how I love fresh berries.

Mash the strawberries with a potato masher and let them cook up all tasty like.

Add in some lemon juice, sugar and salt. Let it cook down until you reach the correct consistency using the chilled plate and/or spoon method.

Here’s what you need to do. Grab up a small plate and stick it in the freezer to get good and cold. Once you’ve been cooking your jam for a good while (You’ll start to notice that it looks thicker. Mine took around 45 minutes), pull out a teaspoonful and drop it onto your frozen plate. Place the plate back in the freezer for about a minute and then pull it back out and check the consistency of your jam. If it’s good to go, you’re good to go! If not, keep cooking and try again in a few more minutes. You can also keep a glass of ice water with a spoon in it next to your pot for quickie thickness tests, but I tended to like the plate test a whole lot better.

While it’s cooking, you may notice a bit of foam start to form on the top of your jam. Simply skim the foam off the top with a spoon as it forms. The foam won’t hurt you if you leave it on. It simply tastes like, well, foam. So most people prefer to skim it off.

At this point you can transfer it to a container and store in your fridge for an anytime sweet taste treat, or you may can your berry creation to share with others or save for a later date. If strawberries are involved, it’s all good in my book.

I’m not going to go into a detailed canning lesson here, but you can find more information on how it’s done over at one of my favorite sites for fresh fruit and veggie information; Pick Your Own.

So I’m curious, do you pick your own fruits and/or veggies? What are your favorites?

Wonderfully Pom Strawberry Jam

Ingredients:

Directions:

Combine Strawberries and Pom Juice in a large stock pot and mash the berries roughly with a potato masher.

Cook the mixture on medium heat, covered, for about 10 minutes being sure to stir frequently.

Add in the sugar, salt, and lemon juice. Attach a thermometer to the pot and continue to heat, uncovered and stirring every few minutes, until your jam reaches the desired consistency, being sure to skim off any excess foam from the top of the jam as it forms.

To test the consistency of your jam, grab up a small plate and stick it in the freezer to get good and cold. Once you've been cooking your jam for a good while (You'll start to notice that it looks thicker. Mine took around 45 minutes), pull out a teaspoonful and drop it onto your frozen plate. Place the plate back in the freezer for about a minute and then pull it back out and check the consistency of your jam. If it's good to go, you're good to go! If not, keep cooking and try again in a few more minutes. You can also keep a glass of ice water with a spoon in it next to your pot for quickie thickness tests, but I tended to like the plate test a whole lot better.

Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla.

Store jam in fridge or can in a hot water bath using sterilized containers. Check out the Pick your Own site for more specific information on canning jams.

Wish us luck. Tomorrow Scott and I are driving the boys to Disney World for a week of fun rides, expensive food, and overtired children. Nick, my oldest, has been planning our schedule out for the past week and a half now. See that 123% down there at the bottom? I’ve been told that’s the percentage of fun he’ll have if we ride all his requested rides.

I was supposed to be making a tart with my brand new tart pan. At least that was the original intention. In the end it turned out more like a bar made in a tart pan. This is the second time that my attempts at “tart creation” have been thwarted. The first time involved rhubarb and wouldn’t you guess, cream cheese. It was a sloppy finish and in the end I had to mix the whole concoction together, throw it in a pie crust and freeze it. The pie was delicious, but it definitely didn’t qualify for tart status. I swear, one of these days I’m going to set out to make a tart and succeed. Until that day comes though, this bar definitely suffices and serves to calm my ever nagging sweet tooth.

Think cookie crust with just a hint of lemon zest meets smooth as silk almondy cream cheese middle and hug it all together with a slightly tart red raspberry sauce that serves to balance the overall sweetness of the confection. Combine this melody of flavors and what do you have? One harmoniously empty plate, that’s what.

I’m assuming you can’t get to the kitchen fast enough to whip a plate up for yourself, so let me end the suspense and show you how it’s done.

When I say the words “Bananas Foster French Toast”, what thought comes to your mind? For me it’s one all encompassing word. Scrumptious. The idea for this recipe was first inspired by a morning meal we partook in at one of our favorite Charlotte breakfast hangouts; The Flying Biscuit. Oh man, if you ever go, make sure to get the creamy dreamy grits. I think I literally break out into song right there at the table every time I take a bite. Never have I had a better grit. Ever. But I digress. This particular morning we were there, they just happened to have a list of breakfast specials and the one that caught my five year old’s eye was the banana’s foster french toast. Alright, I’ll admit, it caught my eye too. What’s not to love? Thick slabs of french toast, covered with caramel coated bananas and topped with fresh whipped cream. Uh, yea. Twist my arm.

I’ll be honest when I say that we ate breakfast and that was the end of it. The thought never even crossed my mind to create a batch of my own. And then last week, I was stopping by Lyndsey’s blog, Pinch of Yum, and she had the most delectable looking Caramalized Banana and Fig Oatmeal. Who knew oatmeal could be that exciting? I left a comment on her blog and mentioned the bananas foster french toast. Next thing I know I’m getting this comment on my Greek inspired slow cooker chicken in return:

“I love the addition of dill. Mmmmm… dill!! Also, I’m a tad disappointed that your post wasn’t about the bananas foster french toast! Will we get to see that anytime soon, I hope?!”

Hmmm. First the restaurant, then the oatmeal and now the comment. Yep, this recipe pretty much hit me upside the head and said make me. NOW. So that’s exactly what I did. Prepare to get your breakfast tooth, your sweet tooth, and your “I can now die a happy (and full) woman (or man) tooth on, cuz this recipe is about to take you to a whole new level of breakfast and give new meaning to the word scrumptious.

In this dish, bread choice can make make or break you, so for heaven’s sake, don’t grab the wonder bread sandwich loaf. Get yourself a beautiful hunk of challah or hawaiian bread that you can cut thick slices from and do just that.

Who wants some Boston Cream Pie? How about some Black Forest Cake? How about both? Pie meet cake. Cake meet pie. Don’t they look happy together? I like to think of their relationship as a little slice of heaven.

It’s been awhile since I cranked out a killer dessert so I figured it was high time. That, and I really needed a serious hit of chocolate. Who doesn’t every now and then? Enter into the pie picture my friend black forest cake. Super duper chocolaty goodness with a cherry or two thrown in for good measure. Booyah.

Let’s review. A Boston cream pie is typically a sponge cake with pastry cream in the middle and ganache poured over the top. A black forest cake is a decadently chocolate cake with layers of whipped cream and cherries sandwiched between. Cake. Pie. Cake. Pie. Pake? Cie? Hey, call it whatever you want, I call it good and gone. I’ve dressed this little lady up in a chocolate sponge, added cherries and cream to her middle and ganached her from head to toe. If you thought plain ol’ Boston cream pie was good, prepare to be one up’ed.